Danny Drinkwater is quickly becoming the fall guy among the masses at Aston Villa.
Barring a calf strain prior to Bournemouth, the 29-year-old has started every Premier League game as physically-possible for the boss who loves his desire and work ethic in training, Dean Smith.
The Chelsea loan star arrived in mid-January to act as a direct replacement for the crocked John McGinn but, in truth, Drinkwater has failed to live up to sky-high standards set by Villa's all-action Scottish midfielder.
Drinky, as he's known around Bodymoor, had previously played a mere 59 Premier League minutes for former club Burnley, with Sean Dyche all too happy to rip-up his season-long loan deal to allow the ex-Leicester City man to join Villa.
Chelsea's £35m signing of 2017 admitted to being short of fitness during a Villa TV interview before Spurs on Sunday, declaring: "I'm getting fitter personally. Everything is coming good. Things are progressing with the more minutes I'm getting.
"I always knew it would be tricky given the amount of time I've not played but, again, a massive thanks to the gaffer and the staff here who know I'm working hard and they're trusting me out on the field so, hopefully, there's more to come."
Drinkwater added of his winter break last week: "I did a fitness camp in Abu Dhabi which was great. It was a lovely bit of sun and a step closer to where I want to be fitness-wise. The break was good. It was more for the international players but, for us as a collective, it gives you the chance to refresh and have a big push again."
The one-time England midfielder endured a difficult Villa Park debut last month, gifting Man City an early goal before being taken off with the score at 5-0. At Brighton the following week, Drinkwater was subbed on 68 minutes with Villa 1-0 down. His replacement that day, Douglas Luiz, then assisted Jack Grealish's equaliser just seven minutes after coming on.
Again, against Watford, Villa were down and seemingly out but Drinkwater's withdrawal on 56 minutes sparked a revival with Douglas Luiz making an instant impact before Tyrone Mings' late winner. Smith, though, immediately brought Drinkwater back into the starting XI for Spurs on Sunday. The Premier League winner struggled after a sluggish start, with Smith admitting afterwards how Spurs' quick forward players jumped on his every move.
Sign up for our free Aston Villa WhatsApp service for latest news
Keep up to date with the latest Aston Villa news, features and exclusives from Birmingham Live via our free WhatsApp service.
Text NEWS to 07557205119 and then add the number to your phone contacts book as BirminghamLive to receive daily updates and breaking news from our Villa reporter Ashley Preece.
Your phone number won't be shared with any other members of the group. Click here for more information on the service.
"His passing was OK," explained Smith. "As I've said, they've got a front four who are very quick. Sometimes, players can get the other side of you and can make you look like you're a bit off it."
Drinkwater made just one tackle and a single interception during his 59 minutes against Tottenham. Team-mate Marvelous Nakamba put in two tackles, made three interceptions and blocked a goal-bound shot in his 30 minutes after replacing Drinkwater. The Mancunian, meanwhile, has been dribbled past 16 times in his four appearances , making just five tackles in that time. By comparison, forgotten man Conor Hourihane has been successfully taken on eight times in 16 appearances . As for Nakamba, the Zimbabwean is by far Villa's midfield king for tackles (50) and interceptions (30) from 19 games meaning, to some, it could have been seen as a little brash to go without 'Naka' for Tottenham.
Smith, though, did allude to Drinky's range of passing, short and long. He made an impressive 50 passes in just an hour, only Douglas Luiz (51), Harry Winks (59) and Kortney Hause registered more (67) in their 94 minutes. Drinkwater's passing success was a solid 86 per cent, too, way more than Winks, Douglas Luiz and Hause. The stat was a match-best for those who completed more than 20 passes. He completed four out of six trademark over-the-top balls from deep into the likes of Ally Samatta, too, which drew applause from the Villa Park faithful.
In summary, though, Villa have statistically been better without Drinkwater on the pitch from the midfielder's four games to date. It's clear he's a firm Smith favourite given his constant backing and passing stats but it's the lack of match-fitness which has caught Drinky short in recent weeks. Spurs on Sunday swarmed all over him in what appeared to be a tactical ploy by Jose Mourinho and, to date, Smith's gamble to play him ahead of the likes of Nakamba and Hourihane has so far backfired.
